I should back up and explain that I am very allergic to cats. And my sister-in-law has a cat that seems to really like me. Probably because deep down, cats hate people and it knows that I’m allergic, so if it pretends to like me, it makes me suffer. Cats are evil creatures, I tell you.

Photo courtesy of warriorcatsuntoldtales.wikia.com

Anyhow, Sis is pretty generous – her shopping addiction leads to many more articles of clothing than she has room for – and because she’s 4 months pregnant, she’s not fitting into much lately. Step one: Go to her house. Step two: Profit!

A few weeks ago, I went to her house for dinner and as per usual, inherited several articles of clothing. One being the Burberry top. I decided it was a perfect shirt to wear today, and selected a rather adorable outfit of that top, a khaki skirt, argyle tights, and brown leather boots.

On the way to work, I felt a little sneezy, but it’s cold out and I am generally always fighting a cold in the winter, so I wasn’t sure I should make anything of it. Upon arriving at my desk, at 7:20, I started to feel very warm. By 7:45, I was itching everywhere. By 8:10, I had hives on my face and my arms, back, and chest were on fire, and it felt like poison ivy and chicken pox, rolled into one. My eyes were itching and watering, I couldn’t breathe through my nose, and my skin felt like….well, not my skin.

I have a daily call at 8:30 to go over a list, and sometimes the call comes early. I was hoping it would, but alas, It did not. The APRN asked if I had a cold, and I told her what was going on. She said I needed benadryl stat, but being 35 miles from home, that is never a good solution. In fact, anything that has “drowsiness” as a side effect is bad idea for me, unless I’m home and not going anywhere.

By 8:45, one of my managers saw me rubbing my arms, and asked if I was cold. I told her I thought I was having an allergic reaction, and she and the Facility director told me to get myself to the Acute Care department. He walked me in, and told the nurse to get me seen immediately.

I took off my shirt in the exam room, and I had hives everywhere. After a bit, I was given Prednisone and Zantac (which has an anti-histamine in it….who knew?) and some other pills, and told to stay laying down and relaxed. A few hours passed, and PJ showed up with a change of clothes. I hadn’t eaten breakfast and felt sick, and the doctor said it’s due to the meds, but also probably because I might have swallowed a cat hair and it caused my stomach to swell and react as well. Fan. Fucking. Tastic.

I ended up going home, taking Benadryl, and passing out for four hours. I feel a bit better now, though still pretty groggy. I’m going to end up going to bed early, and going forward, I’ll just have to wash everything before wearing it.